Sonoma Valley schools will stay closed until at least May 1
Superintendent Socorro Shiels released this statement Wednesday for the Sonoma Valley Unified School District:
“The Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE) on Wednesday recommended that Sonoma County school districts plan to continue distance learning through at least May 1. This guidance was based on consultation with the Sonoma County Health Officer in deliberation with the county superintendents in Napa, Marin, and Solano counties. These counties will also be advising schools to plan for in-person classes to be canceled through May 1.
Previously, Sonoma County school districts had announced that they would suspend in-person classes at least through the end of the Sonoma County Health Officer’s shelter in place order, set for April 7. Then Gov. Newsom called for individuals to stay at home state-wide and prohibited mass gatherings of more than ten people indefinitely.
Following this order, and in consultation with Sonoma County Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase, schools are preparing for the possibility of conducting distance learning through May 1. SCOE and school district leaders will reconvene mid-April to reassess and determine a date to resume in-person classes.
Should the governor’s order end before April 30, school districts will be flexible and consider resuming classes earlier.
We will send more information each week about the specifics of the distance learning plans which are continuing to grow and evolve. We are grateful to have full staff back working remotely on these critical issues and will frequently communicate from both the district and site level as action plans are finalized.
Please continue to be flexible with us as information is changing nearly every day both from a health perspective and from an education perspective as we get more county, state, and federal guidance.
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